Neck Pain

Recently I worked on a man who told me he had his neck “wired together” about 25 years ago. I think he was talking about a surgery in which they create spinal stabilization by wiring the posterior cervical vertebrae together after trauma. This man was in horrible pain. His ROM in both rotation and lateral flexion was extremely limited. He was also very afraid of anyone touching his neck. Apparently about 15 years ago, he had gone to someone for his pain and they had worked his neck. It did not go well.

It took him almost a year to be functional after that incident. Now, 15 years later, he was becoming non-functional again. This time because of the pain and lack of mobility. I wondered if he was not having some deterioration of the nerves in the area as well. But he said his doctor said no, he did not have any nerve damage. He ended up in my office because one of my clients had been insisting he come for about three years.

Warmer Weather

SMRT has the unique ability to soften muscle tension with minimal movement and minimal pressure. When I began to work on him, his fear made him guarded. He paid attention to everything I did. He asked questions. He told me how it felt every step of the way. He needed to know that I knew exactly what was happening to him.

I talked to him and checked with him and used only SMRT on his neck, shoulders, and head. After we were done working, he sat up on the table and exclaimed, “wow, that’s really better!” Then he began to slowly rotate his head. Although he did not have full range of motion, his rotation was much improved. I asked him to bring one ear toward the same side shoulder. This was also much improved. He reported minor stiffness and a pain level of 3 compared to the 15 he told me it had been when he came in. Fantastic!! I have seen him twice since. He is stable, but will need consistent work (hopefully) for life. He told me he had been planning on moving to a warmer place next year, but had decided to stay in Colorado so he could get SMRT treatments.

Receive 10% early registration discount on SMRT: Head & Neck and SMRT: Arm & Hand from April 20-22, 2018 in Seattle, WA ends in one week on Tuesday, March 20, 2018. Register now!